Look at sign enforcement identifies broader problems

Friday

Barnstable’s sign code enforcement has come under fire as too aggressive in the past half year, but a report commissioned by Barnstable Town Manager John Klimm suggests that’s not the case.

Called inconsistent and untimely in report for town manager

Barnstable’s sign code enforcement has come under fire as too aggressive in the past half year, but a report commissioned by Barnstable Town Manager John Klimm suggests that’s not the case. What the report, conducted by Financial Advisory Associates, Inc. of Buzzards Bay shows, however, is an enforcement program in the building division that lacks consistency, timeliness, training, adequate staff and a modern system to track them. The study, commissioned by Klimm in May and received in July, looks at sign code enforcement in particular and zoning enforcement policies and data collection in general. Complaints have reached his office and the podium at town council meetings that sign code enforcement is too aggressive. “The perception was that town staff was overly aggressive,” Klimm said. “When you look at the facts, that clearly isn't the case.” That’s a road the town’s been down before. Klimm pointed to the town’s annual resident survey, which showed a marked increase in the number of people who felt less safe than the year before. The police department’s research showed that crime was actually down, but high profile cases likely influenced what survey respondents were feeling. The FAA report indicates there is little documented evidence of sign code citations being issued for 2006-08. What the report points up, however, is an inconsistent pattern of enforcement that can be interpreted as targeting particular areas or businesses. “What our research did disclose is that a practice of inconsistency primarily existed in Barnstable during several of the previous years,” the report reads. “The lack of enforcement promptness and the lack of consistency in enforcement have resulted in a highly unpredictable enforcement pattern.” The key now, according to Klimm, is to move toward implementing the study’s recommendations. A request for proposals is expected to hit the streets in the coming week calling for software and systems to help modernize violation record keeping in the building division. Klimm said there was an appropriation for the audit and he was working out the final funding pieces. Klimm said that the study provides a good framework for a plan to improve enforcement and the regulations themselves. Barnstable typically conducts operational audits for its major departments, focusing on one annually. Klimm said that Regulatory Services was slated for such a review, and it seemed to make sense to start with sign code enforcement given the attention issues in the downtown area. Klimm said that he’s spoken with a number of other town managers about similar problems with codes enforcement and for “professional building commissioners, it's the bane of their existence.” Klimm said that the staff involved, including Director of Regulatory Services Tom Geiler and Building Commissioner Tom Perry welcomed the study and have been very open. In an interview this week, Geiler said that the report didn’t bring any surprises. “We certainly knew that we had some deficiencies and staff shortages,” Geiler said. The town will seek proposals for computer software that can start making sense of the information that is collected but is difficult or impossible to access in any coherent fashion. On record keeping and complaint tracking, Geiler said, “We’re still doing that by hand.” The report contains a series of recommended short range actions, as well as couple of both medium- and long-range actions to modernize data collection, enforcement and community outreach in a proactive fashion. The report also recommends a full review of the town’s zoning ordinance. There has been movement on this front in the past six months, with adoption of a zoning amendment to provide an opportunity for businesses to seek certain types of signs. A similar effort is under way for each of the town’s villages, as directed by Town Council President Fred Chirigotis during the discussion for the downtown sign code amendments. The planning board and growth management department staff have been meeting with village groups to seek information on what types of things they’d like to see for their villages. “We want to work over the next year to improve the efficiency of the operation as well,” Klimm said. The Hyannis Main Street Business Improvement District and Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce were not aware that the study was conducted and weren’t immediately in a position to comment. FAA, the firm that conducted the study, is owned and operated by municipal consultant Michael Daley of Marstons Mills, who is also a regular Patriot columnist.

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